Chargers coach Brandon Staley’s frustration appears to be mounting, and his latest response to a question about wide receiver Quentin Johnston made that glaringly apparent. While Staley has drawn a spotlight for previous curt responses to questions from reporters, his back-and-forth on the topic of Johnston was undoubtedly noteworthy.
The rookie first-round pick suffered a rib injury during Sunday’s game against the Ravens, and while he was cleared by trainers to return, did not see any action after that point. On Monday, Staley clarified that Johnston sitting out for the remainder of the game was not related to his performance on the field during a tense back-and-forth with reporters, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.
“It’s not because of a lack of confidence. It’s not because of any other part of your imagination,” Staley said. “Quentin will be out there if he’s able to be out there.”
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When a reporter began to ask a follow-up question, which began with, “I don’t mean to belabor the point on Quentin,” Staley interrupted him, as Rhim detailed.
“You are belaboring the point,” Staley said before explaining why Johnston didn’t play through his injury while others on the team did.
“It was a rib injury. O.K.? Your ribs affect how you breathe. O.K.? He plays a position where you have to reach in order to catch things,” Staley said. “So it affects the position, and so he was cleared to go back in the game, but there was apprehension on my part of putting him back in there until he felt good enough, and that is the storyline.”
It was an eyebrow-raising back-and-forth between Staley and reporters, to say the least. The 20–10 loss to the Ravens moved the Chargers to 4–7 on the season. It also marked the team’s third consecutive loss, and they now sit in last place in the AFC West and two games back of the AFC’s final wild-card spot.
